All types of relationship abuse or domestic violence can originate from one person’s desire to control and have power over the other person. Addiction is closely linked to relationship abuse in a big way. If someone is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, then they are much more likely to lose control, meaning that there is much more of an increased chance of abusive behavior in the relationship. Not only can it lead to being abusive when under the influence of addictive substances, but it can lead to using these substances more and more to cope, if you are the person in the relationship being abused. Addiction and abuse go hand in hand, but there are ways that you can break the cycle, by getting help with us at Robert Alexander.

How Does Relationship Abuse Impact Addictions For Women?

Relationship abuse is something negative that happens when you are supposed to be in the confine of a loving relationship. Abuse can vary from physical or sexual abuse as well as more subtle forms of abuse, such as gaslighting and coercive control. No matter what form the abuse takes, it is something that is traumatic and can affect you more than you may realize. For many women, the constant degradation can leave them feeling worthless and low. When you feel unloved, like there is no way out of this relationship, or even that you deserve being treated this way, then it can come as no surprise that women can drug and use drugs as a way to cope and deal with what they are experiencing. 

Women can often feel like there is no one that they can talk to about this either, meaning their feelings become internalized as they try to cope alone. This is a cycle that just perpetuates the abuse and the substance abuse.

Treatment for Addiction and Relationship Abuse

The key to sobriety and having the freedom from an abusive relationship is to not just find treatment for the abuse and violence, but also treatment for substance abuse. At Robert Alexander Center we can help both the abuser and the abused to overcome substance addiction, helping you to improve the overall quality of your life. Acknowledging that help is needed is the first step, but it is a step in the right direction. 

Getting help for the Trauma from Relationship Abuse

There is some good news because you can get help and learn how to rebuild yourself, as well as your life. As part of our recovery treatments, we have therapy that helps to address relationship violence and go through the ways that it has impacted you. Relationship abuse can impact your self-worth and can impact your life if you are now an addict as a result of using addictive substances to cope. 

If this sounds like you, then there is no need to feel ashamed. Get in touch with one of our expert teams today, by calling or getting in touch by filling our form online. We can help to reverse what has happened to you as a result of relationship abuse and help you to get on the right path to living a happy and addiction-free life. 

Addictions are complex and one of the reasons for them can be deep-rooted in the addict. When we all have a better understanding of addiction and the reasons why people can become addicts and find it hard to break the habits, it can help the recovery process. One of the things that can lead to addiction is trauma. But what is trauma and how does it impact women in recovery?

What is trauma & how does it impact addiction in women? 

Trauma is an event that is deeply distressing or disturbing, but it is something that is very personal. What one person experiences could be really traumatic, but if someone else were to experience it, wouldn’t find it as traumatic. Trauma can be abuse of any kind, neglect, or sexual assault. It can be domestic violence, getting diagnosed with a medical condition, or as a result of other big life changes. Traumatic events like this can be overwhelming and debilitating. As a result, coping can be tough, and can be why many women reach to use drugs and alcohol as a way to cope and as a way to numb the pain that we feel. If you have been through something then it can feel like you don’t have anyone to turn to who would understand, which is another reason why trauma and addiction are so closely linked.

If substance abuse is the step before addiction, then self-medicating with addictive substances is the step before substance abuse. Self-medication is often an attempt to manage the stress that comes as a result of trauma. In other words, women can often turn to drugs or alcohol to help them to deal with the mental and emotional, and sometimes even physical impact of their trauma. It is easy to see why there is this connection and how one can lead to another. This is very true when it comes to women in recovery from addiction. Having an undiagnosed psychiatric disorder, such as PTSD, can be one of the main reasons why women relapse after recovery. Dealing with the trauma with therapy can help avoid this and give your techniques and other strategies to help to cope.

Get help for your trauma with us

Trauma is something that is significant, so it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Even if you have experienced trauma as a child and think you’ve gotten over it, something could trigger you later in life and lead you to addiction if it hasn’t been dealt with correctly. At Robert Alexander we are here to help, and part of our treatments is therapy and counseling, to help you work through your trauma, so that you can lead an addiction-free life when you leave us. 

You can get in touch with our team of experts today, who can talk through what would be best for you. It may be that you just need to enter as an outpatient or you may be better to join us longer-term. Whatever your trauma, we can help to make sure that the addiction as a result won’t impact the rest of your life. 

Self-love and having positive mental habits is something that is so important when dealing with addicts and treating addiction. Some of the reasons for addiction could be because of low self-worth and having negative mental habits, which is why looking deeper into this is so important. These areas teach patients how they can improve their lives and help them to put themselves in a positive mental state which ultimately will help them to recover and avoid temptation. At the Robert Alexander Center for Recovery, we support women and support the need for self-love and positive mental habits. 

How we support self love & positive mental habits in women

One of the first things that we will do, as part of the initial detox, is to look at the negative core belief system that our patients have. This is based on how you feel about yourself, which usually starts in childhood, which means that women can feel that they are unwanted, unloved, and even dirty and worthless. It gets planted in your mind as a child and can be reinforced through adolescence and then adulthood. As a result of this, women can reach for behaviors that lead to addiction, which reinforces what they think about themselves even further. 

The self-loathing and hating can elevate as a result, but what we do is help to challenge that belief system and help you to have positive mental habits. We can help you through our therapy and treatments to show you that you are inherently a good person, and through this can guide you down a path of being able to forgive yourself and learn to love yourself.

Combating self-sabotage to support self-love

Self-sabotage is when you engage with self-destructive behavior, which is something that is common with addicts. When things are going well in life we don’t feel worthy of it or we are just waiting for it to go wrong. Instead of waiting, something that is common with addicts is that they just make it go wrong before it has the chance to go wrong. What we do to help combat this is to talk about self-destructive behaviors and self-sabotage and identify to our female patients how to do this. We can then help to guide them down a different path, one which is more about self-love and self-forgiveness; it is possible!

Positive mental habits

Trauma can be the fuel to a lot of negative thoughts and negative mental attitudes. This self-loathing is what can fuel addiction, and in order to remain free from addiction for life, this is what needs to be dealt with. We can help to teach our patients the skills that they need to love themselves and to forgive themselves. 

If you have lived for years feeling miserable, then now is the time to put yourself first and to learn to love yourself and get the help that you need. As an inpatient or an outpatient, we can help you to love yourself again and to create positive mental habits, which can help in all areas of your life, especially in addiction recovery. 

Substance abuse has become prevalent among women due to several factors. Although there are measures to help them deal with their addictions, fear of being shamed causes them to avoid treatment. Studies have shown that women who face addiction experience higher stigmatization levels and are less likely to seek help. However, creating a safe space for them to open up will go a long way in helping them overcome this. 

What causes addiction in women?

Root causes of addictions vary from woman to woman.  Understanding these causes affects how we work with those who are dealing with such a situation. For many women, some of the triggers for their addictions include the following:

Traumatic events

Women who have experienced abuse of any form as children are more likely to get addicted to substances to deal with the negative effects. These traumatic events include domestic violence, rape (especially teenagers and young women), emotional and physical abuse from parents, and many more. Multiple studies have revealed that women are more likely to experience Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and seek comfort in drugs or alcohol. 

Stress

When faced with job loss, bankruptcy, death of a loved one, divorce, etc., women tend to experience a higher stress level. Also, a particularly tiring job can contribute to chronic stress. As a result, some use substances such as alcohol and prescription drugs to get relief. However, continuous use can easily develop into addiction over time. 

Low self-esteem

Women who battle with low self-esteem due to abuse or any demoralizing experience tend to feel depressed and have a higher tendency to turn to substance abuse. Unfortunately, more substance abuse can lead to even lower self-esteem, thereby creating a vicious cycle. 

How do we help women who are hurting from addictions?

Although the effects of addictions can be severe, it’s never too late to seek treatment. At Robert Alexander Center, we believe in personalized service, and this impacts how we work with women who are hurting from addictions. Our treatment options include the following:

Detoxification 

The first step for every woman experiencing substance abuse to take is detoxification. It’s the process where the body removes toxins built up over the years due to alcohol or drug abuse. It helps the body metabolize these substances to prepare them for their journey to recovery. The best detox is carried out in a safe and controlled environment, under the professionals’ watchful eyes. 

Outpatient program

The outpatient program is suitable for women who seek treatment but can’t be away from their work, families, or school for a period. This program offers them the full benefits of in-patient treatment programs without them staying at the treatment facility. Based on their plans, they can attend therapy sessions on designated days of the week. 

Intensive outpatient program (IOP)

The intensive outpatient program is available on a part-time basis. It offers full, intensive addiction treatment for women who can’t reside in the treatment facility for a long period. Usually, the IOP is recommended after completing the in-patient treatment program and helps ease women into their daily routines while working on their recovery goals. It’s more intensive than the standard outpatient program as it requires patients to attend weekly meetings and therapy sessions in the mornings and evenings. 

Other rehabilitation services include the residential in-patient program, partial hospitalization, family therapy and program, and aftercare planning. 

Should you seek help to overcome addiction, feel free to visit Robert Alexander Center for all your recovery needs.